Sophia grew up in Seattle, in a family that was involved in activism, so it was something she was exposed to early on.  Her roots are in social justice.  She had an epiphany early on that she wanted to make things.  She didn’t just want to witness things as a bystander, she wanted to experience them.

Sophia desperately wanted to get into the film industry after college.  Her parents insisted that she get a job to pay her bills, so she ended up working at a media start up that was on the periphery of the film industry.  She quickly found out that she had chosen a parallel track and realized that if she continued on it, she was getting no closer to where she really wanted to be.

She was able to take some continuing education classes and quickly gravitated towards still photography.  From there she worked her way into freelance photography and began taking gigs.

In this Community Q episode, Jo-Ná takes a question from community member Carol Mae Whittick.  Carol is struggling with the same thing that so many of you are - how to price your services?  Jo-Ná gets the details and then coaches Carol through the question and gives her the steps she needs to take to set her pricing.  Carol already has a customer, but she just doesn't have a clue what to charge her.

In this episode, special guest Shantell Martin comes on the show to talk about being yourself and how important that is in branding your business.  Shantell is a renown artist, and she has built an immediately recognizable brand.  You can immediately spot one of her art pieces because it is do distinctive.  Shantell never really set out to have great branding, she just did what made sense to her.  She was consistent.  That is the basis for every great brand - authenticity and consistency.  Shantell tells us how she did it, and how you can do it too!  Don't miss a moment of this episode.

#areyouyou #artistempowerment #artistswithdayjobs #shantellmartin #artists #art 

Is getting people to pay for your creativity difficult for you?  Do you have people that expect you to provide your craft for free because it is your passion? Jo-Ná answers this question from the community and gives actionable steps for getting paid what you are worth, so that you can create even more!  Don't settle for giving your work away - it's time to get paid.

In this episode, Jo-Ná interviews internationally acclaimed artist, educator, writer, feminist, activist Kim Katrin Milan!  Kim has her values in human rights, justice and equality and she uses her platform to support her art.  Don't miss a minute of this episode!

In this introductory episode, Jo-Ná Williams explains the need for the show.  Creating the path for artists and creatives to live completely on the income from their craft is her mission.  She will show you how to quit your day job and make your craft work for you full time!  Don't miss it!